To the Editor:
Serving the people of Westport and nurturing the education of our children is an honor and a privilege for each of us on the Board of Education. The events of Feb. 27 have given us an even greater appreciation for the strength and unity in our community.
We are filled with enormous gratitude that our children are safe. Thanks to the preparedness and professionalism of our administrators, teachers and first responders, our children went safely home on Tuesday — and returned to school safely on Wednesday morning.
We are especially grateful to our Superintendent, Dr. Colleen Palmer, who has focused intensely on school security and student safety from the first day of her tenure. And thank you to her enormously effective central office team. We are confident that in the coming days Dr. Palmer will lead us successfully in our efforts to review, reinforce and continue to improve our security plans and infrastructure.
Thank you to our Chief of Police Foti Koskinas, Fire Department Chief Robert Yost and to all our first responders. Their skill and commitment are always impressive and were on full display in their rapid and effective response to events as they unfolded on Tuesday.
Thank you to all our teachers, administrators, staff and bus drivers at Staples High School, led by Principal James D’Amico, who carried out emergency plans with a high regard for the children’s safety.
And thank you to the brave and thoughtful student who came forward immediately after hearing another student make a concerning threat. We applaud this kind of exemplary behavior and are heartened that our students are vigilant in protecting one another.
After Newtown, we made several improvements to our security infrastructure and otherwise, and we recently updated the security plans for all eight schools. Working closely with the first responders, the Superintendent and the administration, we continue to review our security procedures and look for ways to improve the safety and security of our schools.
We have received many emails from parents that are filled with expressions of gratitude and helpful suggestions about how to make our schools even more secure. We hear you, we understand your concerns, and we are grateful for your engagement.
Input is always valuable, and we hope that families will continue to reach out to us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). And we hope many will attend Dr. Palmer’s upcoming informational session on school safety and security on March 14 at 7 p.m. in the Bedford Middle School auditorium.
Westport pulled together as a community on Tuesday to ensure the safety of our children and we will continue to do so as we move forward at this troubling time for gun violence in our country. We will continue to show our children that we do live in a world filled with caring, concern, mutual respect and hope.
Sincerely,
The Westport Board of Education
Michael Gordon
Jeannie Smith
Elaine Whitney
Mark Mathias
Karen Kleine
Vik Muktavaram
Candice Savin
